Upaniṣads · Yogakuṇḍalinī 2.29
॥
Devanāgarī
स्नुहिपत्रनिभं शस्त्रं सुतीक्ष्णं स्निग्धनिर्मलम् । समादाय ततस्तेन रोममात्रं समुच्छिनेत्
Transliteración (IAST)
snuhipatranibhaṃ śastraṃ sutīkṣṇaṃ snigdhanirmalam | samādāya tatastena romamātraṃ samucchinet
Palabra por palabra
SánscritoIASTSignificado
स्नुहि-पत्र-निभं शस्त्रंsnuhi-patra-nibhaṃ śastraṃa blade like a milk-thistle leaf
सु-तीक्ष्णं स्निग्ध-निर्मलम्su-tīkṣṇaṃ snigdha-nirmalamvery sharp, smooth, clean
समादाय ततः तेनsamādāya tataḥ tenahaving taken, then, with it
रोम-मात्रं समुच्छिनेत्roma-mātraṃ samucchineta hair's breadth shall he cut
Traducción
"Having taken a blade like a milk-thistle leaf, very sharp, smooth, and clean, — with it shall he cut a hair's breadth".
Versión
930737fc0711 · publicado 12 ago 2026, 5:00:00 UTC
Disponible enRUENPasa de verso en verso con
Here is the description spoken of in advance when reading the twenty-eighth line: the frenum of the tongue is cut, and cut a hair's breadth at a time. I shall not repeat what was said; I shall only repeat the conclusion: this must not be done, and we do not accept it. Let me speak here of something else — of what is visible in the description itself and makes it frightening precisely for its businesslike manner.
The blade is described in detail: shaped like a milk-thistle leaf, sutikshna, "very sharp," snigdha, "smooth," nirmala, "clean." Three requirements, and all three sound: a dull blade tears, a rough one snags, a dirty one infects. That is, before us are a surgeon's precautions; and the man who wrote this cared about not introducing dirt. This care does credit to his observation and no credit to the deed itself.
Here lies what is worth remembering from this whole passage. Care in carrying out a bad deed does not make it good. A blade can be sharpened and washed; the question is not the blade. The Vaishnava side holds the same rule in judging deeds and repeats it constantly: things are judged not by diligence, but by what is done. The Gita speaks of austerity performed "with self-torment" and "for the harm of another," and calls it dark (17.19) — however much zeal and however much care.